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Black Jazz Records
| founder = Gene Russell Dick Schory | fate = | defunct = | status = | distributor = Ovation Records | genre = Jazz | country = U.S. | location = Oakland, California }} Black Jazz Records was a jazz record company and label founded in Oakland, California"Black Jazz Records." www.allrecordlabels.com. Retrieved October 12, 2015. by pianist Gene Russell (December 2, 1932 - May 3, 1981)"Gene Russell's Back With L.A. Label." Billboard Magazine, September 27, 1980. Google Books. Retrieved October 19, 2015.Williams, Jean. "It's Back to Piano for Russell." Billboard Magazine, June 9, 1979. Google Books. Retrieved October 19, 2015. and percussionist Dick Schory.Nastos, Michael G. "Gene Russell." www.allmusic.com. Retrieved October 12, 2015."Black Owned Jazz Label to Bow With Black Acts Only." Billboard Magazine, July 3, 1971. Google Books. Retrieved October 16, 2015. The label was created to promote the talents of young African American jazz musicians and singers, and released twenty albums between 1971 and 1975. Some of the more notable artists to record for Black Jazz Records were Cleveland Eaton, former bassist for Count Basie and Ramsey Lewis, and pianist Doug Carn, whose four albums were the most successful of any Black Jazz artist."Top Jazz Albums: ARTISTS." Billboard Magazine, December 26, 1974. Google Books. Retrieved November 27, 0215. Carn's wife at the time, Jean Carn, sang on his albums; she changed her name to Jean Carne and went on to have a successful solo career as an R & B singer.Wynn, Ron. "Doug Carn." www.allmusic.com. Retrieved October 16, 2015. Singer Kellee Patterson gained notoriety as the first black Miss Indiana in 1971, before recording her debut album, Maiden Voyage, with Black Jazz Records in 1973.Harris, Tamara. "Throwback: Kellee Patterson-Turn on the Lights." www.kickmag.net, August 14, 2011. Retrieved January 3, 2016."Profile: Kellee Patterson." Discogs. Retrieved January 3, 2016. The label was distributed and financed by Ovation Records, a country and western label based in Chicago, which was also founded by Schory."Who's Who in A&R at Ovation." New on the Charts, 1979. www.notc.com. Retrieved October 16, 2015. Black Jazz Records was considered at the time to be the first jazz label started by an African American since brothers John and Reb Spikes started Sunshine Records in 1921. History Black Jazz Records was founded in 1969, and released its first four albums on August 1, 1971. The founders were Gene Russell, a veteran jazz pianist, and Dick Schory, a Grammy-nominated percussionist also known for his development of the stereo recording techniques quadraphonic sound, Dynagroove, and RCA Victor's Stereo Action.Weiss, Lauren Vogel. "Hall of Fame: Dick Schory." www.pas.org. Retrieved November 20, 2015."RCA Victor Stereo Action Series." www.musiceureka.wordpress.com, October 29, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2015. Schory started Ovation Records in 1969, after leaving RCA. Ovation financed and distributed Black Jazz Records, while Russell served as an A&R executive. Russell also produced and engineered the label's initial releases, while maintaining complete artistic control through his production company, GR Productions.Williams, Jean. "Jazz Sneaks Into R&B Scheduling." Billboard Magazine, September 13, 1975. Google Books. Retrieved December 13, 2015. Russell's vision for Black Jazz Records was for it to be geared towards the Black community, and all of the artists recording for the label were African American. The label was created as an alternative to traditional jazz, invoking a more political and spiritual tone, often with funk overtones."A Tribute to Black Jazz Records." www.choicecuts.com. Retrieved October 12, 2015. Black Jazz released various types of music including, funk, free jazz and soul jazz. Black Jazz Records was also known for its unique album cover concept, which was copyrighted by the label. The concept included a design that allowed the title to be shown regardless of how the albums were positioned in the browsing rack at record stores. All of the albums had white lettering on a black background, with the liner notes and personnel listed in the same place on each of the labels releases. Russell organized a promotional tour for the label in September, 1971. In addition to promoting the first four Black Jazz albums, Russell and his marketing consultant Ray Lawrence did radio, television and newspaper interviews to showcase the label and its artists."Black Jazz Promo Tour." Billboard Magazine, September 4, 1971. Google Books. Retrieved December 5, 2015. A 1974 Billboard Magazine article noted that Doug Carn, one of the label's more successful artists, sold more records than Dave Brubeck and Ramsey Lewis at that time. The label existed for six years during its first run, folding in 1975.Williams, Jean. "It's Back to Piano for Russell." Billboard Magazine, June 9, 1979. Google Books. Retrieved October 19, 2015. Re-discovery James Hardge Gene Russell closed Black Jazz Records in 1975 to focus on his new label, Aquarican Records. He started the new label in an effort to "remove the stigma attached to jazz titles." Russell intended to move Black Jazz artists to Aquarican Records, but he did not sign his first artist to the label until 1980, when he signed singer Talita Long. Long recorded with Gene Russell as well as Henry Franklin, and is the mother of actress Nia Long."Talita Long." www.burkemanagementfirm.com. Retrieved December 13, 2015. Gene Russell died in 1981, and the albums from Black Jazz Records gradually faded out of circulation until 1986, when James Hardge, Jr. bought the defunct label's master recordings. By the early 1990s he had re-issued the entire collection on compact disc, including a new release by Doug Carn."Black Jazz Records." www.discogs.com. Retrieved October 12, 2015. Interest in Black Jazz was revived in the early 1990s when Carn's songs "Infant Eyes", "Adam's Apple", and "Spirit in a New Land" became popular in England and Japan. The label's music also became popular through samples used by hip-hop artists such as Ice Cube and A Tribe Called Quest. This new demand led to numerous bootleg copies of Black Jazz material entering the market.Varela, Jesse. "Black Jazz Label Reborn." www.mtv.com, April 29, 2000. Retrieved October 17, 2015. While Hardge maintains a Myspace page for the label, attempts to sell the CDs online were unsuccessful, and he eventually offered Black Jazz Records for sale on Craigslist for $285,000 in 2011.Koshkin, Brett. "Wanna Own a Legendary Record Label? Black Jazz Puts Itself Up for Sale." www.laweekly.com, August 6, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2015.Harvey, Jamison. "Black Jazz Records Master Tapes for Sale on Craigslist?" www.fleamarketfunk.com, June 28, 2011. The Black Jazz catalog was eventually licensed to the Japanese label Snow Dog Records."Label Profile: Snow Dog Projects." www.snwdg.com. Retrieved October 19, 2015."Releases." www.snwdg.com. Retrieved August 10, 2016. Snow Dog Records Snow Dog Records acquired the licensing to Black Jazz Records in 2012, and began reissuing the albums as its first project. The remastered albums included new liner notes and previously unpublished photographs. They have also released a series featuring remixes of Black Jazz material produced by DJ's from Japan, Germany, and the United States: DJ Mitsu, Gilles Peterson, Muro, and Theo Parrish."Snow Dog Records: Mixes." www.snwdg.com. Retrieved November 6, 2015.Shaw, Steve. "Theo Parrish’s Black Jazz Signature: Black Jazz Records 1971-1976." www.factmag.com, August 27, 2013."Muro: King of Diggin': Diggin' Black Jazz." wwww.forcedexposure.com, November 6, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2015. Legacy The legacy of Black Jazz Records has been kept alive by reissues of its albums, remixes and samples by DJ's and hip-hop artists. There have also been occasional tours and concerts where former Black Jazz artists have performed music from their recordings with the label. Doug Carn, Rudolph Johnson and Henry Franklin joined other veteran musicians as the Black Jazz Allstars, and performed a series of shows at the Center for African and African American Art and Culture in San Francisco, California, from April 29 to May 7, 2000. Guitarist Calvin Keys joined former label mates Henry Franklin and Carl Burnett in "Heroes of Black Jazz, a Tribute to Gene Russell", on July 14, 2011 at the Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center in Leimert Park, Los Angeles."Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center Features Gene Russell Tribute, 7/14." www.broadwayworld.com, July 5, 2011. Retrieved October 19, 2015. Calvin Keys' first album, Shawn-Neeq, originally recorded with Black Jazz Records in 1971, was re-issued by Tompkins Square Records in 2012."Calvin Keys: Shawn-Neeq." www.tompkinssquare.com. Retrieved November 9, 2015. Keys celebrated the re-issue of "Shawn-Neeq" by performing the entire album at Yoshi's jazz club in San Francisco, California on January 5, 2012.Gilbert, Andrew. "Guitarist Calvin Keys Helps Celebrate Vinyl Reissue of His 1971 'Shawn-Neeq' With a Yoshi's Gig." www.mercurynews.com, January 5, 2012. Retrieved October 19, 2015. Doug Carn and his ex-wife Jean Carne played together at the 2013 Savannah Jazz Festival in Savannah, Georgia on September 28, 2013.DeYoung, Bill. "Doug and Jean Carn: The First Couple of Black Jazz: Reunited onstage for the Jazz Fest." www.connectsavannah.com, September 25, 2013. Retrieved November 8, 2015. Black Jazz Records Discography Black Jazz Releases Under Snow Dog Records Re-mix Series Musicians *Gene Russell - Piano *Calvin Keys - Guitar *Walter Bishop, Jr. - Piano *Henry Franklin - Bass *Doug Carn - Piano, Organ, Keyboards *Jean Carn - Vocalist *Cleveland Eaton - bass *Kellee Patterson - Vocalist *The Awakening - Instrumental Group *Chester Thompson - Organ *Rudolph Johnson - Saxophone References Notes External links *Article covering e-mail conversation between DJ Prestige (Jamison Harvey) of Flea Market Funk and James Hardge *Black Jazz Records on Myspace. *[http://www.discogs.com/label/Black+Jazz+Records Discogs.com: Black Jazz Records.] *Talkin' All That Jazz Part 10: A Tribute to Black Jazz Records (featuring 2 hours of music). *Snow Dog Records. *Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center. Category:African-American history in Oakland, California 01 Category:Companies based in Oakland, California Category:Culture of Oakland, California Category:Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Category:Defunct record labels of the United States Category:Jazz record labels Category:Music of the San Francisco Bay Area Category:Record labels based in California Category:West Coast jazz